Could a cotton swab in the nose take the sting out of migraine botox injections?
NCT ID NCT07571889
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This small study tests whether placing a cotton ball soaked in lidocaine (a numbing medicine) inside each nostril for 5 minutes before Botox injections reduces pain. 18 adults with chronic migraine who get regular Botox shots will receive both lidocaine and saline (salt water) on different days to compare. The goal is to see if this simple trick makes the injections more comfortable.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- lidocaine
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a simple, low-cost way to make Botox injections for migraine less painful.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very small pilot study with only 18 people, so results may not apply widely. The numbing effect might be minimal or no better than placebo.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 18 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Mar 2026
- Expected to finish
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Jan 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Aged ≥18 years * Any gender * Able to provide informed consent * Meets clinical criteria for onabotulinumtoxinA for chronic migraine (minimum of 2 days of disability per month due to facial or headache pain, or 8 headache days per month, or more than 15 headaches per month) * Scheduled for modified PREEMPT injections at the clinical site Exclusion Criteria: * Aged \< 18 years * Trigeminal neuralgia, cluster headache, or other primary headache disorders as dominant diagnosis * Not able to provide informed consent * Known allergy/hypersensitivity to lidocaine or amide anesthetics * Pregnancy/lactation * Inability to tolerate intranasal nasal cotton pledgets * Significant nasal pathology at placement site
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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University Otolaryngology
RECRUITINGEast Providence, Rhode Island, 02905, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Can freezing nerves stop chronic migraine pain?
- Could an inhaled sedative quiet the Brain's migraine alarm?
- Can neck exercises turn down the volume on chronic migraine?
- Can a No-Fridge migraine shot replace botox?
- Could a common cholesterol drug stop chronic migraine?
- Migraine relief may sharpen the mind: study investigates cognitive benefits of preventive therapies